Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

Plant introduction and horticulture- the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula has a tropical monsoonal climate unlike any other in the USA. With year-round warmth and rainy summers, fairchild can grow many of the world's most important, beautiful, unusual, and endangered tropical plants. The garden includes a rainforest, desert gardens, ponds and lakes, rare plant conservatories, a garden for native butterflies, a conservatory for exotic butterflies, a nature trail, and special sections exhibiting palms, vines, and tropical trees. Separate from its main campus, fairchild operates a plant nursery and a 20-acre tropical fruit farm. Key collections include palms, cycads, tropical fruit trees, and orchids. Beginning with expeditions led by dr. David fairchild in the 1930s and 1940s, the garden's scientists have acquired new species of tropical plants from all over the world. The best of these plants earn a permanent spot in fairchild's living collection and are shared with local gardeners and the broader horticultural community. Today, fairchild works with organizations and nations worldwide to exchange specimens and bring new plants into cultivation. Recent acquisitions include tropical desert plants, fruit trees, aquatic plants, and orchids from all parts of the tropics. Science and conservation- fairchild's living collection, herbarium, library, and laboratories support a unique set of research projects that advance knowledge of tropical plants and help save rare plants and ecosystems. A diverse team of staff, students, and volunteers collaborate on field biology, molecular research, micropropagation, and biodiversity studies. Fairchild's team is constantly teaching and learning from visitors, members, students, volunteers and the community of scientists worldwide. Current science and conservation projects include studies of orchid ecology and restoration, the evolution and classification of palms, restoration of south Florida and caribbean ecosystems, the evolution of plants on tropical islands, and interactions among birds, insects, and tropical plants. Fairchild stands out among the world's botanical institutions in its high level of citizen science, having several projects that engage the broader community in addressing important questions in plant biology. Fairchild has three large citizen science programs: (1) connect to protect, distributing rare south Florida native plants to local residents, businesses, and schools to increase the representation of native flora in urban landscapes and study broader ecosystem benefits; (2) million orchid project, working with students, educators, volunteers, and scientists, to study strategies for bringing south Florida's native orchids back from the brink of extinction; and (3) growing beyond earth, fairchild's partnership with nasa that engages hundreds of school classrooms nationwide in research to improve plant growth and food production in space. Education: continuing education, school programs, interpretation & publications, volunteer & visitor services programs- fairchild is the region's leading source of botanical education, connecting the broader community with the world of plants and related topics in science, technology, engineering, and math (stem).the garden offers a diversity of award-winning programs for school-age students, credit and non-credit courses for university undergraduates and graduates, professional development for educators, and continuing education opportunities for adults. The award winning, interdisciplinary, environmental science competition, the fairchild challenge, is designed to engage students of diverse interests, abilities, talents, and backgrounds to explore the world of plants. Reaching over 125,000 students annually, the program has been recognized as a benchmark for exceptional stem education and for empowering prek-12th grade students to become the next generation of scientists and advocates for plants. The fairchild challenge has become a

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 97.7%; rating input score 98
• Program expense ratio: 89.5%; rating input score 90
• Fundraising efficiency: $15.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -5.6%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.57; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 2.6%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings